The World’s Most Enigmatic Manuscript

Have you ever read a Government publication that discussed such topics as the Hermetic tradition, astrology, demonic and angelic magic, alchemy, the Cabala, and the history of Hindu-Arabic numerals?

I thought not.

All of those esoteric subjects and more can be found in The Voynich Manuscript: An Elegant Enigma, published by the National Security Agency (NSA). The Voynich manuscript, often dubbed “the world’s most mysterious manuscript,” is a remarkable conglomeration, written in an unknown script and language and profusely illustrated with carefully rendered images of unidentified plants, enigmatic astronomical drawings, and puzzling human figures. Known to have existed since the late 16th century, when it was owned by the physician of that most enigmatic of rulers, the Emperor Rudolf II of Austria, it has been labeled variously as a magical manual, a herbarium, and a hoax. NSA’s interest stems from the widely held belief that the manuscript is enciphered. The noted American cryptologist William Friedman, as well as many other professionals and amateurs, have tried without success to crack the code – if code there is.

The Voynich Manuscript gives a brief history of this mystery, along with its possible connections to the topics I’ve listed above, and a discussion of the many unsuccessful attempts to crack the code or cipher, or at least discover whether it is written in a natural or artificial language. Although none has been successful, efforts are still underway, as even a brief perusal of the Internet reveals.

Is it a hoax? If so, the hoaxer must have labored for years to create it – surely too much effort for very little known return. Given the penchant of early modern scientists and philosophers to disguise their researches through the use of symbols and allegory, its obscurity is not unprecedented, although obviously extreme. One clue may reside in this book’s reference to the Art of Memory, a system of using physical or mental landmarks to enable the memorization of incredible amounts of information. Is the Voynich manuscript a colossal “memory palace”?

The Voynich Manuscript is more evidence that the world of Government publications is almost infinitely vast and surprising. It tells a great story and provides enough decipherment tables to delight the amateur and aficionado alike. You can read this very unusual publication here, order your own copy, find it in a library, or, to get a real feel for thee original (and maybe solve the mystery!), you can study the real thing, page by page. Note: Some readers have run into a problem in downloading the PDF of the Voynich Manuscript. Try clicking the link that says “PDF with text,” which downloads much quicker.

The Voynich manuscript is an illustrated codex hand-written in an unknown writing system. The book has been carbon-dated to the early 15th century (1404–1438), and may have been composed in Northern Italy during the Italian Renaissance.The manuscript is named after Wilfrid Voynich, a Polish book dealer who purchased it in 1912.Great post.

Ive noticed that some of the words start with what looks like the number 4, the number 8, the number 9, and some backwards english letters. and if you put the computer upsidedown while viewing it, it seems to reveal a bit of english words.. and im only 12 and i would like to know of this

Thanks for the review it was really interesting.I found this piece of information which is correct. You should get a special thanks for providing the online version of the Voynich Manuscripts. The quality is also camera like.

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I had a long curiosity for this Voynich Manuscripts. I searched at various sources but found nothing which is concrete. At last I found this piece of information which is correct. You should get a special thanks for providing the online version of the Voynich Manuscripts. The quality is also camera like.

“Frances Yates first called attention to memory practices as an object of historical inquiry with her pathbreaking study of the long reception of the ancient arts of memory [Yates, The Art of Memory (1966)]. The art of memory was designed to facilitate recall by associating the items to be remembered with vivid imagery, often related to the places in a building. Aristotle and Cicero explained the origins of this method from the story of Simonides who remembered all the guests who were killed at a banquet by the places they had occupied around the table. Today, still advice books on improving memory recommend similar techniques of association with vivid images and places.

Basically, from ancient times, associating images with a concept or fact is an oft-used technique for improving memory and retention of pertinent facts.

Another memory technique used particularly from the Renaissance on is note-taking. Comments Norman: “Starting in the Renaissance, note-taking can be studied from abundant surviving sources. Images were valued as mnemonic aids in manuscript and print, but repetition and copying out were the keystones of Renaissance pedagogy.” I imagine a scribe who had to copy the same passages over and over by hand certainly learned them by heart!

And the third technique he mentions, is the physical presentation or layout of the information. Norman explains that since early printing days, “Page layout in both manuscript and print could also facilitate recall of material from the look of the page on which it appeared. . . .” (Blair, Too Much to Know. Managing Scholarly Information before the Modern Age [2010] 75-76). This is something that has translated as well to web pages, as users become familiar with information laid out in a certain format and retain more if the layout is designed for that in mind.

It’s more of the concept that if you want to remember something or you want your readers/audience to remember something, including a compelling image to associate with the information to be captured will improve the retention of the information.

Thank you for the opportunity to experience wisdom not sought out by by everyone. Yes as in the Ancient Mystery schools, knowledge can be non verbal and the feeling you get from images can teach you some thing if you listen for your inner voice. Peace

Ahoj,
Voynich manuscript is writen and encrypted in the Czech language.Author in manuscript czech alchemist 15 th century John of Lazy.Manuscript can not resolve the English language.Contain nothing mysterious,alchemical many only description of operations.I have compiled many pages of the manuscript.Pictures are only symbolic. Women in the alchemy symbol of rebirth.And not only in alchemy. Plants are only symbolic.
Real name manuscript = GOLD MUD.(Zlato Bláto)1454.

OF COURSE I CAN NOT BELIEVE ,ENIGMA , AND OTHER PAZZLING STORIES!BUT , IF SOMEONE WANT TO LEARN THE TRUTH STORY OF OUR PLANET , HE MUST STUDY THE ANCIENT GREEK MYTHOLOGY!THIS IS NOT MYTHOLOGY , THIS IS A REAL ENCIPHERED STORY!AND , I HAVE A QUESTION?WHERE ARE THE ANCIENT GREEK MANUSCRIPTS?

1) Before the 1600’s most all things were based
upon Natural Order.
2) 99% of all the Stars in the book are 7 pointed
not 6 pointed.
3) 99% of all the Pictures are of Women that are
very small Busted.
4) In one of the pictures they have a picture
of a Pre Historic Fish/Mammal in the Middle of
the page.
5) Recently they have found Two of these
Fish/Manuals in the ocean—Must be over
100,000,000 years old in evolution.
6) They say that this species of fish/mammals was
the evolution of Man going to Land.
7) A Dolphin has five fingers on their front
Pectoral Fins (has not changed in evolution for
the last 15,000,000 years).
8) Many of these pictures look like a Venus Fly Trap
or Living Eating Plants.
9) Charles Darwin was stumped by the Trilobites—–
400,000,000 Old. He did not see any linkage or
any species precursor to them on Earth.
10) Gold did not come from the Planet Earth–An
Asteroid hit the earth over 100,000,000 ago
with Gold.
11) 99% of all Irrium 3000 comes from Meteor
Sites. They use Irrium 3000 (20 times more
Magnetic then anything) in Electrostatic
Magnetics.
10) Many of these pictures look like Women or Seeds
Growing from these Plants–Coming out of
Hibernation or Birth.
12) If you go back to Baghdad Iraq to the Samarian
Culture–1200 years before Moses.
13) The Samarian’s believe that the Annunaki’s came
from another Planet—The 10th Planet.
14) If you go to the British Museum in London you
will see their Scrolls.
15) The Annunak’s were the Giants over 7′ Tall. They
say that, —-“They came from the Heavens”. On
their Scrolls you will see space Ships and the
10th. Planet (British Museum London).
16) Moses got the “613 laws of the Mitzphot” from the
Samarians 1,200 years Prior. He based the Jewish
Laws upon Samarian Culture and Laws
17) The Scales on many of these pictures look like
the scales from the Pre-Historic Fish/Mammal.

I personally don’t know how to read this book or what the pictures mean. Recently in the last 5 years the NIH has identified over 350 Microciams—Microscopic living Organisms in the Human Body only scene by Electron Microscopes. The NIH has a goal to identify 350 more Microciams in the next 5 years. In 1946 they had the 1st. Antibiotics. The 1st. Blood Transfusion was in 1898. It is very interesting that this book has a Picture of a Fish/Mammal—We have only found (2) of these Fish/Mammals in the last 100 years. There is no way anyone should of been able to see one of these Fish/Mammals back in the 1400’s or the 1500’s. Remember that the 1st. Mass Printing Presses were in the 1400’s and that transportation was very limited.